Elena di Mazara

Elena di Mazara (23 January 1286-1 May 1310) was the mistress of Frederick III of Sicily from 1303 to 1310. Elena was one of the most sought-after women in Europe, with princes from Genoa and Serbia seeking her hand in marriage. However, she remained Frederick's mistress until their deaths from the plague in 1310.

Biography
Elena di Mazara was born in Sicily on 23 January 1286 to the House of Mazara, and she was invited to the court of King Frederick III of Sicily on 13 January 1303. Frederick was impressed by her beauty, and she soon became the most sought-after noblewoman in Italy; Frederick declined marriage offers from royals in Genoa and Serbia to keep her at his court. Elena befriended Queen Eleonora of Trinacria, and King Frederick even attempted to convince his own wife to help him seduce Elena. On 16 September 1303, after many failed attempts to seduce Elena, he danced and conversed with her all night at a minor event in Taormina, and he invited her to mead in his room. They made "sweet, illicit love in her bed" (as Frederick wrote in his diary) before he snuck off in the wee hours, and they became lovers. On 1 June 1305, she gave birth to their child Lucrezia di Mazara, who was acknowledged as his child by the king himself. In 1310, unfortunately, King Frederick died of the plague. His brother James II of Aragon succeeded him as King, and he attempted to woo Elena. However, she also died of the plague on 1 May 1310.